H is for Hawk | St Marys Church

H is for Hawk

Director: Philippa Lowthorpe
Writer: Emma Donoghue, Philippa Lowthorpe
Actors: Claire Foy, Brendan Gleeson, Denise Gough, Lindsay Duncan
Rating: 12A
Drama | UK | 2026 | 1hr 55 mins

Following the sudden, devastating loss of her father, Helen (Claire Foy) finds herself drifting in a fog of grief. Struggling to anchor herself to the world, she seeks solace in an unusual place: the training of a goshawk, one of nature’s most ferocious and untameable predators.

Moving to a remote cottage to pursue this obsessive challenge, Helen attempts to channel her sorrow into the hawk’s wild, instinctual spirit. As the bird begins to mirror her own isolation, the process forces her to confront the raw, uncomfortable realities of mourning and the long, fragile road toward healing.

Adapted from the celebrated memoir by Helen Macdonald, this film offers an intimate and visually striking exploration of humanity, nature, and the desperate search for connection when the world seems to have shattered. It is a profound, meditative experience that captures the quiet intensity of finding one's way through the darkest of times.

Special Guest - Director Philippa Lowthorpe - Q&A after the film

Philippa Lowthorpe is an acclaimed BAFTA-winning British film and television director. Beginning in documentaries, she became the first woman to win a BAFTA TV Craft Award for Best Director for Call the Midwife. Her notable directorial work includes the hard-hitting miniseries Three Girls, the feature film Misbehaviour, episodes of The Crown and BBC drama Prisoner 951 - which detailed the story of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe's imprisonment in Iran.

Philippa Lowthorpe - Director